Action / Comedy / Crime / Drama / Thriller

Synopsis

Three fraternal bank robbers languishing in jail, discover a profitable (if not dodgy) way to spend their time. Crime can most certainly pay, if you "know wot I mean?" However when sex and greed rear-up between the good crims and the bad cops, the consequences are both bizarre and fatal.

Three fraternal bank robbers languishing in jail, discover a profitable (if not dodgy) way to spend their time. Crime can most certainly pay, if you "know wot I mean?" However when sex and greed rear-up between the good crims and the bad cops, the consequences are both bizarre and fatal.

Tech specs

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by one2runn27 / 10

Good for a "heist" film

This was a really enjoyable film. While it may not have had the most
original script, it certainly shines when compared to other, much more
lackluster, heist films.
I enjoyed this from start to finish and did not find it as formulaic and
predictable as many other films in the genre.
It's sort of like an Australian version of the film "Confidence," only
with
better acting and more interesting characters.
Guy Pearce throws himself into the role and does not waver.

Even when the focus is on another actor his presence commands the
attention
of the audience.
Few actors are as skilled in stealing a scene without ever saying a
word.
The female characters are rather one dimensional, but it's a detail that's
easily overlooked as they are not the central focus.
Definitely worth a visit to the video store.

Reviewed by sal_taylor10 / 10

If you loved Chopper...

Stellar performances from Guy Pierce (thankfully redeeming himself here
after Time Machine) and Joel Edgerton - (best known for playing lovable
Will
on the TV show Secret Life of Us).

It's a smart, funny movie that keeps the action moving along at a
satisfyingly snappy pace. However, the ending is somewhat disjointed and
throughout the film you get the feeling that Scott Roberts had lots of good
scenes in his head (and they ARE good) that he wanted to put on screen, but
that they don't necessarily all work together.

Nonetheless it's a highly enjoyable movie in the Chopperesque genre of
darkly funny gritty dramas that Australia is beginning to earn a
well-deserved reputation for.

Reviewed by noralee5 / 10

Heist Movie Down Under

"The Hard Word" is a gritty, sexy, Australian take on the double-crossing heist movie.

We get to hear Guy Pearce (long-haired and greasy) and Rachel Griffiths (blonde and wet) go native in their accents in an entertainingly original script by first-time director Scott Roberts.

While not the first film to have quirky brothers-in-crime as the comfortable loyalty fulcrum, the familial psychological pathologies make for a nice counterpoint to the friends', foes', and femme fatale's twists and turns. There's more jokes and ironic humor than even the violence, which helps to block out some quizzical plot turns.

The movie never tells us that the title is Ozzie slang, among other blunt phrases used throughout (such as the tendency of Ozzie blokes to affectionately call each other the "c" word). My Down Under friend Bronwyn translates (used with her permission): "In it's 'ultimate' usage it means to pressure someone for sex. If you were talking to a girlfriend who went out on a date with someone new, you might ask 'did he put the hard word on?' However, it is sometimes also used just in a general sense of exerting pressure. In fact, it was in a headline in our local suburban paper ("The Leader") yesterday: 'Minister puts the hard word on district pollies [politicians].' An article about the State Minister for Local Government pushing the local councils to sort out boundary reforms."